Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting KUIU review

Just wanted to post a little info about their gear here. I purchased several items from them for my upcoming Sheep hunt in NWT in August. This weekend I hunted turkeys in KY during some severe thunderstorms (I know, I'm an idiot). I wore the 185 Merino underneath the Chugach rain jacket and I wore the Attack pant by itself at times and under a Gore-tex paclite pant at other times. I stayed very dry, was quiet and apparently my camo worked pretty well as I bagged a turkey and had hens within 10 yds from me several times.

Merino top-I own Merino pieces from Icebreaker, Smartwool, Ibex, First Lite, Minus 33 and Driz-a-bone. This top is as good as it comes. Very soft and wicked great. I stayed dry underneath the rain shell which is probably as much a testament to the rain gear as the merino but either way I was pleased. Nice to have a comfortable light merino in Camo.

Attack pant-very satisfied with this pant as well. Super stretchy and pockets are very useable. I'm 6'1" and 180lbs with a 32-33" waist and prefer a 34" inseam. I ordered these in 34 and the fit is perfect. I have not had a hunting pant fit this well, the waist is maybe slightly big but not much-pretty true to size. The crotch and groin are roomy and stretchy and the thigh are athletically cut but not tight on me. The inseam is plenty long and hangs over my boots and stays there when you sit down. They breathe very well and between rain showers when it was in the 70's and I was running around and climibing hills, I had no tackiness or sweating and did not feel clammy in them. They were rained on quite a bit and I never got wet. One time with about 30 min of hard rain and walking through wet brush, the water seemed to be absorbing in to the fabric some but I never got wet inside. When I got out of the rain, the pants were dry in less than 30 min and you would never know they had been wet. Under my rain pants and crawling around in a soaked wheat field and through some very thick underbrush, I never got sweaty or clammy and never got wet at all. Very pleased! My new favorite pant. I ordred a pair in the Charcoal as well.

Chugach Jacket-Very light! Material is thin but slightly softer and stretchier than your typical mountaineering hard shell. Seams are welded and taped and pit zips are good sized. I ordered the XL and it fits well when layering. might be slightly large if I was just wearing it over a t-shirt or something. Definitely some flex and stretch to the material. Pretty quiet but not like a soft shell. Worked great in the driving rain and I never got wet underneath. I never felt the typical clamminess or "wetness" that you feel under some hard shells. I was crawling a good bit and through some briars and thick brush and it never snagged or ripped and never leaked.

I have the guide jacket and some of the other gear but have not had a chance to test any of it yet. I am so far quite pleased with my purchases. The camo is definitely more of a western style pattern and is probably not the best for the deep Southeast where I live but it seemed to work fine on the turkeys the other day. I was in primarily Green brush but the contrast must have worked. I am also pretty good at sitting still which definitely is the main thing. Happy to answer any questions if anybody has any. I'll report back as I put more of it through its paces. Jason certainly has made a promising start to his clothing line.

Thanks for the review!! I'm really liking what I'm hearing about this stuff. I agree that pattern is probably more suited for western landscapes, but feel, as you found out, that if one is relatively still it'll work in the midwest if one is still and moreso in the fall. Be interested to see some black and white photos of the stuff in a eastern/midwest setting...

Don't know what part of KY you were in, but if it was anything like SW Indiana this past weekend and you stayed dry I'd have to say the stuff works well!

Ebby,
Thanks for the field report on the new Kuiu stuff.
In the photo your XL Chugach jacket looks slightly large but I'm assuming you ordered it that way to accommodate layering? If you maximized your rain protection with the Chugach jacket, why didn't you get it in the pants as well?
Congrats on the bird by the way.

For pointer:

Ebby could you bowhunt in the rain gear or would it be too noisy in your opnion? How is the swish factor when moving though brush? Great review thanks

I think you could bowhunt in the rain gear. It's swish factor is less than a typical hardshell, but more than a softshell. It would not be my first choice to hunt it if it was not raining. If it is dry out pack this baby up and roll with something that breathes a bit better, and is more functional.

Thanks that is what I wanted to hear. I don't get worried about noise when elk hunting in the rain. But I wouldn't be wearing nylon rain gear either .

Bigwhoop, it is a little big in the chest and belly area. It works well with layers though. It would be a little big with only a thin layer on. It fits well in the shoulders and arms though and the L would be a little short and tight in those areas. It is more generous though the chest than some I've seen

Ehunter, it is quieter than most hard shells but still would be a little noisy. The swish factor was not too bad either mainly because of the stretchiness of the material. The Guide jacket would work for most rain short of a downpour and would probably be a better choice (or other soft shell type jacket of your choice). This jacket is a quieter Rain shell but still more noisy than those. During the rain it would not be noticeable though and if it stops, you can just stuff it in your pack since it weighs 9ozs in size L.

Thanks Ebby. I'm sure there are quite a few following the reports as they come in.

Sorry I didn't answer your other question, I did not order the pants because I have a pair of Sitka gore pac lite pants and also a pair of Gore Tex Soft shell rain pants. They both work pretty well and I was already spending beyond my budget on the other gear! Had to cut costs a little and the rain pants got axed. I may still pick them up as I'm very pleased with the Jacket.

I think I need a pair of those pants...

It looks like they're going to come out with a green color. I'd rather have a Ranger Green colored pant than camo or gray. I'll drag my feet to see when the green color is coming out.

I wore my Kuiu Chugach pants and coat last week when collecting some cameras I had out over the winter.
The most impressive part was no sweating. I was walking hard at about 5500 feet in the rain and in a hurry. Didn't have a lot of time and snow was on the way. Not as quiet as my MT50 light fleece from Cabelas but much more comfortable and no comparison on breathability. Didn't get cold like usual after you heat up.
Temp was 37 degrees and windy. Had the guide jacket on and a t shirt.
Great stuff.

Just received my order of KUIU gear, here's a few thoughts right off the bat about the stuff.
Pros- Great softshell fabric, cut and design look well thought out. Only time will tell regarding durability, etc.
Cons- Mostly related to care.... although I thought the softshell beanie fit was way too tight for my fat head, so be warned, if you have a big melon, it'll be TIGHT.
Merino Baselayers- Per labels you can't use a dryer, even on low or delicate.(have to lay flat to air dry). Seems odd, other merino wool makers allow low heat dryer drying, and it's worked well for me in the past with those brands (no shrinkage with other brands using a dryer)
Softshell pants-Again, no dryer use allowed, only lay flat to dry. that could be a a problem depending on the time of year....
Spindrift jacket-Hand wash only. No machine wash ? It's synthetic fill, so I'm a little surprised at this. Seems a bit 'delicate' to me for hardcore hunting clothing...

Definetly DO NOT use a dryer! I put my Kuiu merino in the dryer with my First Lite Merino on extra low.....(should have read label instead of assuming!) Now my xl Kuiu merino top fits my 11 year old really well....no issues with my First Lite though, still fits just like it did prior to washing. I personally prefer the FL merino over the Kuiu....not slamming it as I'm sure it's great stuff....I just like the feel, thumb holes and fit better of First Lite.